Friday, November 1, 2013

It's a Win Win Situation!

Jane Horne, photographer and painter, lives in the foothills of the Pyrenees, southern France. We
walked those hills many times, while my friend, rarely without a
camera, photographed the stunning scenery, people, animals, old barns, cloud
formations. Her pictures are superb; she has won many prizes.

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Jane Horne - Winning Photograph 2013 - Autrefois le Couserans

Now, my gifted and talented
friend has carried off the Top Prize at one the greatest festivals in southern France. With this absolutely perfect photograph, capturing the spirit of bygone days, Jane has won First Prize in this prestigious contest, and has been named as the winning photographer at this year’s “Autrefois le
Couserans".

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Jane Horne - Winner

A three day celebration of life
and work in olden times, the famous “Autrefois le Couserans” festival takes
place in the town of St Girons
each August and attracts thousands of visitors, with hundreds of
photographic entries pouring in, all hoping to walk away with the top prize. So impressed were
the judges with Jane's entries, they awarded her Third Prize too.

Jane’s work covers a wide
range of subjects. Ballet dancers, jazz club singers and sax players, glamorous
party gatherings, Paris street musicians, local farmers,
cheese makers, French market scenes, and her lovely dog Polo all feature in her
work, which is vibrant with colour, movement and style, with flashes of humour
and whimsy.

The works reflect her
personality; apart from a wonderful eye for a picture and an enviable talent
with brushes and paint, Jane Horne has a big generous heart, a truly merry
nature and a joyful spontaneity; qualities that shine through in her art.

Welcome

Thank you for visiting my Blog - a bit neglected these last months as events overtook me. Time to re-launch myself now.

I lived in southern France for almost ten years and wrote about French life and culture, hence the Blog name. Various Newspapers & Magazines in France, Ireland, England, and the USA have published my work. I've also contributed to two successful books.

For the moment, I am in Ireland, on the east coast, beside the sea and minutes from all Dublin city has to offer. It's a total change from life in the tiny hamlet in the foothills of the Pyrenees, where my little house is one of only five dwellings. Both places have advantages; I can slip into either way of life quite easily but France is where I prefer to live.